Green flame
by Carlie J. Cariba
Summary: Bella Swan begins to work for Edward Cullen, who can make her blood boil like no other.
1. Chapter 1

**Green flame**

**Don´t own twilight.**

Bella Swan begins to work for Edward Cullen, who can make her blood boil like no other.

**Chapter 1**

She slides her hands down her skirt. Bella Swan is going to meet the CEO of the Company she works for. Of course Miss Stanley hasn´t warned her that she needs to meet some old man. Well, she assumes that the owner of the million dollar company Conustus is some creepy old man, at least that´s what she has heard from her co-workers. She doesn´t expect anything good from this meeting.

She takes a deep breath before entering the building. Well, to be honest, she doesn´t even know much about this company because she only works there for a few weeks. She kind of hopes her new boss won´t ask too many questions. When she is on the first floor she stares down at the paper in her hand on which the name of her new boss is noted. Edward Cullen. Well, she certainly has never heard the name before and assumes that he must really be an old man.

Hmmm, that certainly will be interesting and she briefly wonders why she is send to meet the new boss and not some of her co-workers. She notices that the only person around is some blonde woman behind a huge desk, she tries not to sigh loudly. Just her luck.

She is so lost in her thought that she doesn´t even see the man who is walking straight into her. Bella looks up and sees that quite a young man has just bumped into her without apologizing.

"Watch where you are going miss," he growls loudly, making the blonde woman sitting behind the desk look at him in wonder. Of course they know each other. She doesn´t want to be as rude as the man and she dares to take a close look at his face and her jaw drops open. Oh my god. He is full of arrogance, of course, but he still looks very handsome in his suit. She shakes her head and then takes a step back from the ruthless man before answering.

"Well, you didn´t watch either," she snaps and leaves without another word. She is a little proud of herself for standing up against him. Who does he think he is anyway? She hasn´t done anything wrong, right? He can shove people around. It´s just disgusting, but he seems to know the effect he has on females because Bella can see that he clearly flirts with the blonde woman behind the desk. The blonde woman smiles brightly at him and Bella rolls her eyes at them. Doesn´t she see the way he is watching her every move? He turns his eyes on Bella´s shape and stifles a laugh. Okay, there clearly is something wrong. After a few seconds he whispers some words in the blondes ear and leaves with a cocky grin. Bella can´t believe him. What has she done? She doesn´t even know who he is.

"Mr Cullen will see you now Miss Swan." The woman point at a door after Bella introduced herself and for a second Bella doesn´t know which door she means. The door on her right or left side? She waits awhile and then the blonde woman stands up and shows Bella the right way. She nods at her and sees that the woman stifles a laugh.

"Good morning sir," she says shyly and enters the room without permission from her new boss. She tries to see his face more clearly, but it´s hard to see because it´s quite dark in the room and his head is hanging over some papers. Well, doesn´t he know that she has just entered his office? Obviously not, because he takes his pen between his fingers and plays with it. Bella then takes a few steps forwards and now sees a bit of his face.

The man is quite attractive for fifty years and she is afraid she may say something wrong. He nods his head to the chair before his desk without looking up. She sits down without looking at him and waits for him to look up from his papers. What kind of boss is he anyway? Letting his employees wait for him to notice them. It´s kind of turning Bella´s mood immediately.

"Who are you?" he asks and looks her up and down. No, he can´t be her new boss. Please. Not him.

Bella stares at him, thinking about how awkward the whole situation is. All she wants is to leave the office, but no, this man, her new boss, is looking at her oddly as soon as she shifts in her seat. She has a pretty good guess why he is looking at her with mad eyes and it´s nothing she is proud of.

"Well, who are you and why are you sitting my office?" he sounds annoyed and takes a close look at her body, then her face.

"I believe I am your personal assistent, sir." It´s only a whisper, but he understands perfectly.

"You believe?" his voice is low and it sounds like he is very irritated with her.

"Well, I am your assistent, sir," she replies with more strength in her voice and nearly falls from her chair when she looks into his green eyes. They are so unearthly. Almost as if he tries to pick out every detail of her.

"And why is it that you are in my office now?" he growls loudly and stands up while pointing at the door she came through. Bella shakes her head. What is she supposed to do now?

"I was told to meet you today."

"Miss Stanley?" he asks curiously. Why would he think she is this monster from hell?

"No, my name is Bella Swan." She stands up and steps towards him to shake his hand. He takes a look at her outstretched hand and ignores it. What is he doing? She tries to be polite and what does he? Nothing, nothing at all.

"So, tell me about yourself," he says and walks over to his desk again, leaving her standing in the middle of the office. She looks at her feet and feels embarrassed. Who does he think he is? He can´t be her new boss. Really, he isn´t even polite.

"Hello. My name is Bella Swan, I am 21 years old and I work for your company since last month."

"Three weeks? That´s all?" he cries at her. What the hell does he do that for?

"Yes."

"Do you think you will fit in?"

"Yes sir, I think I am more than cabable to handle things."

"Good, good. Now tell me why don´t you go to college then?" he sounds very demanding and Bella doesn´t like it in the least.

"Actually, I am planning to go to Dartmouth next year," she finished and dares to look at him. His mouth is slightly open and he is staring at her. Wow, what now? She waits awhile and he doesn´t stop looking at her questionary. It´s like he is deliberating whether he should say something or not.

"I will see you later Miss Swan." He smiles and she nearly loses it. It´s so unbelievable. He really smiles at her and she tries really hard not to choke on something. Of course it´s not that easy. She stands up and grins one more time at Mr Cullen before she turns. Maybe it won´t be so bad after all. She smiles to herself, but is brought back to reality the same moment as she trips over her feet. She tries not to fall to the ground, but it´s useless. She even breaks some vase as she is falls down with a loud bang. This is so embarrassing even for her. Bella is used to trip over her feet but not in front of her boss.

He helps her up to her feet and smiles at her. Bella is not sure if he is smiling or laughing at her for being so clumsy. Well, all in all, she made quite a first impression. Maybe she will have another try ...

"You should really know where you are going Miss Swan."

"Believe me sir, I know exactly where I am going," she spats back and turns again, this time without tripping over something.

The next day Bella is really excited about her upcoming day. She is standing in front of her bedroom mirror, looking like she hasn´t slept at all last night. She sighs heavily while wondering how she will survive eight hours with Mr Cullen without dropping to her knees and die from shame.

"Bella, are you awake?" her dad, Charlie, yells from the kitchen and Bella makes a face.

"I´m coming downstairs dad," she cries back and stifles a laugh. It´s always the same. With one last look into the mirror she grabs her bag, skips down the stairs and sees her dad already making breakfast.

"I am not hungry dad and I am already late for work."

"You meet your new boss yesterday?" he asks while shoving some toast into his mouth.

"Yeah I did dad," she said a little excited now that she thinks about Mr Cullen again.

"So, how did it go?"

"It was okay, actually pretty good," she answers and holds her bag closer to her body.

"Okay then, just want to make sure you are fine." Oh Charlie, always the loving dad she missed all these years before has she moved back to Seattle four months ago. Her mom, Renee, isn´t happy that she left Arizona, but it´s Bella´s choice after all. Her parents divorced five years ago and Bella didn´t take it good and she was nearly forced to leave her hometown. But now she is back.

"Yeah, I am fine dad. I will see you later." She waves her hand and he smiles at her and then she runs to the front door and it closes with a loud bang.

Twenty minutes later she arrives at work and is nervous like on her first day of high school. She enters the huge building with a burning inside of her that she can´t really describe. It´s just her nerves.

"Good morning Bella, how are you today?" her friend at work asks her. She is the only one who Bella can talk to.

"Hi Angela. I am fine what about you?"

"Oh you know I am okay, but the new boss just arrived and is in a bad mood." She looks at Bella and gives her a small smile. At least Angela doesn´t need to face Mr Cullen now.

"I will see you later Angela."

"Yeah. And good luck with Mr Cullen."

"Thanks."

It´s quite when she enters the floor and she wonders where her co-workers are.

"Did I miss anything?" she asks to no one particular and shakes her head.

"Yeah you should be at a meeting right now miss," answers a low voice from behind her. She turns around and nearly trips over her feet. It´s a man she has never seen before and she wonders where he came from.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" she asks a little irritated by his presence. He has blond hair, broad shoulders and the most serious expression she has ever seen on a man before.

"The meeting? Mr Cullen arrived her early and told everybody to be at the conference room at 8.30 am. Now it´s 8.40 am," he replies and points at his watch. She stares at him confused and notices that he is wearing a suit and by the looks of it it´s an expensive one.

"What the... How do you know that sir?"

"Well, I should know that since he is my brother." He laughs and shakes his head.

"Oh, I didn´t know that sir. Where is he now?"

"It´s the door on the left side," he said and points at the door at the end of the floor.

"Thank you sir." Bella gives him a smirk and turns. It´s awkward enough, he doesn´t need to know her name, though he didn´t even ask for it. She waits till he leaves the floor and then begins to run. She doesn´t want Mr Cullen to think that she isn´t fit enough to be his assistant. She opens the door of the conference room and almost trips. Everybody stares at her as though she has lost her mind. She dares to be late, so what? Well, she clearly knows how to impress her new boss. She takes a few steps into his direction and sits down on the seat beside her co-worker Tanya, who makes a disgusting sound. Bella stares hard on the table and thinks the embarrassing moment is over when she hears a deep voice. His voice.

"Why are you late?" Mr Cullen asks loud enough for everybody to hear. Bella Looks up and meets his glare.

"Do you mean me sir?" she asks.

"No, the other woman who looks exactly like you," he answers with an annoyed voice.

"I am sorry that I am late sir," she says and glances at his tall figure. He is wearing a dark suit and it fits his body perfectly. He runs his hand through his brown hair as if he doesn´t know what to say anymore.

"Right. Next time make sure you will be here on time," he yells out and her co-workers look at her in shock. What? Mr Cullen is the one who is shouting not her.

"Yes sir," she answers and hopes he doesn´t hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"Good. You can leave now," he growls.

"Excuse me sir?"

"You heard me Miss Swan. I want you to leave. Now."

She leaves the room without saying anything and feels hot tears forming in her eyes. What did he do that for? Just because she was late doesn´t mean he can do anything he want to her.

One hour later Bella is doing her work, looking over some documents, when Mr Cullen comes rushing towards her. His hair is wild and it looks like a mess. She suppresses a smile because he does look like he just ran a marathon.

"I want you to book a flight to New York for me," he says and hands her some documents. Oh now he wants her to do something for him?

"When will you leave sir?" she asks politely.

"On Tuesday next week," he says and before he leaves he glances oddly at her.

"And Miss Swan?"

"Yes?"

"Be ready by tomorrow." He grins widely and storms off in the direction of his office. Be ready? What does he mean? She blushes brightly when she thinks about his stare and knows she is in trouble now. Big trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Bella doesn´t sleep at night because she is still thinking about her boss. What did he mean? She is sure that she isn´t ready for anything Mr Cullen would want from her. She sighs and gets a better look at her clock.

"What the ... It´s 5 am and I am awake?" she whispers to herself and tries to cuddle her pillow to her heated body, but it´s useless. Every time she hugs it, she sees his face and his green eyes seem to haunt her. What is he doing to her? What is it about Edward Cullen that is driving her over the edge? It´s a mystery to her, because she doesn´t even know him. Sure, she knows that he is her new boss, but that doesn´t mean anything at all. She frowns and gets up from her bed. Without knowing what to do this early she dresses herself up, this time she decides to wear a knee-length skirt and a white blouse.

"I better go down now," she says in a low tone and skips down the stairs. Well, she doesn´t want to be late again, there is no need to push Mr Cullen´s buttons any further. When she enters the kitchen she is a bit shocked to see her dad sitting on a chair, reading some old newspaper. Okay, that´s weird, even for Charlie.

"Dad? What are you doing this early?" she asks and glances at him in wonder.

"Oh Bella. I just couldn´t I sleep anymore and I see you are also awake. Something is bothering you?" he wants to know, finally looking up from his newspaper.

"No, everything is fine. Really." Bella really tries hard to assure him that she is okay, but is she really okay?

"Okay. Let´s eat some breakfast together," Charlie says and gets up from his seat to get Bella some self-made blueberry muffin.

"What is this?" She asks a bit surprised. Her dad has never cooked before so why now?

"Oh this? I hope you like muffins," he replies with a grin.

"Who made this dad?"

"Oh, just some friend," he says and sits down again.

"Okay, what kind of friend? Billy?" Bella laughs loudly when she thinks about her dad and Billy in the kitchen, baking muffins.

"No need to be mean kiddo. No, Claire made this."

"Jason´s mom? Really?" She doesn´t want to sound mean. She knows Jason for years and he is a real douchebag. He is eighteen years old and good looking, but Bella doesn´t like him at all.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

""No, no. It´s just... Wow," she breathes in and out and really has a hard time to concentrate on some clear thoughts. Charlie and Claire? That´s impossible, right?

"So, I heard that your boss is a real challenge?" her dad says and makes Bella chokes on her muffin.

"How... Who told you about this?"

"Just some rumors going on. Just promise me to be careful, okay?"

"Okay. You are really weird today," she answers and then she turns around, ignoring his demanding stares for the rest of the morning.

When she walks to work later that morning she is really nervous, again. She doesn´t want to see Mr Cullen soon. There is something weird about him, not to mention the way he looks at her is really odd. It´s 8 am when she arrives at work and she immediately notices the brown haired woman who is running around like all hell will break lose  
every minute. Something is wrong, that´s for sure.

"Bella? You are finally here. There is something strange going on here," her friend cries out loud.

"Angela, what is it?" Bella asks as soon as she sees Angelas flushed face.

"It´s Mr Cullen. He is shouting at people for an hour now and nobody knows why." What is Mr Cullen doing? Angela is the nicest person around the whole company and he dares to scream at her? What is wrong with him.

"I better go now. Wish me luck."

"Good luck Bella," Angela shouts after her, but she is already gone, searching for Mr Cullen. Maybe she will be able to figure out what´s going on with him. As soon as she is on the first floor she hears some yelling coming from Mr Cullen´s office. She, however, wants to ignore it, but then there is a loud crash and she runs over to the door and opens it. There is nothing, nothing at all. Her boss looks quite alright and the room is clean.

"Sir? Is everything alright?" She stutters and gets a better look at his face. Problem number one, Swan.

"Why are you here Miss Swan?" Mr Cullen seems to be stressed.

"Well I am your assistent," she says. It´s obvious, now is it?

"Yes, but why are you in my office."

"I heard some strange noices coming from your office and thought that maybe you could need help with something. It wasn´t my intention to disturb you, I am sorry sir."

"It´s fine Miss Swan." What is wrong with him? She did hear some noises.

"Okay. I will get back to work," she says slowly and wants to leave the office when Mr Cullen calls after her.

"Wait a minute. Have a word with me Miss Swan."

"Okay," she replies and is more than nervous about what he is going to tell her now.

"Do you mind if we have lunch together? Tomorrow? I want to know more about my assistent if you know what I mean." His eyes sparkle at her now frozen figure.

"No sir, I don´t mind at all."

"Good. Now go back to work. I expect these papers back this afternoon," he growls, stands up and throws a huge stack of documents into her arms. She ignores the tension between them and tries to sound polite.

"Of course sir," she says without sympathy.

"Oh and Miss Swan?" Mr Cullen yells at her and Bella begins to feel uncomfortable in her place.

"Yes?" she asks curiously and looks back at him.

"Don´t make any plans for next week. You will fly to New York with me," Mr Cullen says. She suppresses a loud groan and nods with her head. Well, what else can she do? He nods in return and she leaves with her thoughts, which are wild and confusing at the same time. Why does Mr Cullen want her to join him? It doesn´t make any sense to her and the more she thinks about him and this situation, the more she drifts away. Away into her own little world.

**She wants him so badly, she can´t breathe at all when he looks at her in pure passion. That´s new. He has never looked at her like this before. He steps towards her, hands in his pocket. What now? He begins to smile at her, oh how she likes it when he does smile. She nearly trips over her feet again when he dares to touch her cheek for the first time. She feels the electric shock in her whole body and isn´t sure if she is dreaming. **

**"I want you to touch me, Bella." Mr Cullen whispers. She loves to hear his voice and the fact that he sounds so breakable like any other person. It reminds her that this is real. That he is real.**

**"I want you Bella." The words leave his mouth and she gasps at him in surprise. He wants her? She starts to breath heavily, her heart seems to beat a little faster than before and then she answers without much hesitation.**

**"I want you, too," she whispers back in the same tone and turns to him. His hands travel down to cheeks, stroke her softly. It feels amazing and Bella wants more. More of him. She needs his hands on her body, his arms around her heated body. She knows it´s so wrong, but that doesn´t stop her from touching his amazing body. She smiles up at his face, grinning and notices that he looks like there are some things on his mind. She enjoys teasing him so much. **

**"What do you want the most Bella?" He asks in a low tone. She didn´t even realise how much she likes it. The more he talks to her, the more she wants to rip his clothes off. Doesn´t he know what she wants the most right now?**

**"Answer me, sweetheart," he whispers against her neck while nipping at it. That´s it. She can´t take it any longer.**

**"You. I want you the most," she cried back in pleasure and is sure she will explode any minute ****until she hears a loud voice shouting her name.**

"Miss Swan?" Oh no. She just dreamed about her boss and now he is standing right before her. That´s more than embarrassing.

"Yes Mr Cullen?" She tries to act normal, though it´s really hard to look into his face right now.

"Did you finish your work?" he wants to know and it seems he is a little bit impatient.

"Ah, yes sir," she says and hands him the papers without glaring at his tall figure anymore.

"Good. I will see you on Monday," he says with a small smile on his lips and leaves Bella with her thoughts alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Bella takes a deep breath before entering the building. Today is the day she is going to New York with Mr Cullen and to be honest she is on the edge of a nervous breakdown right now. All because of him.

"Hi Bella. How are you today?" Angela greets her when she sees her friend.

"I am okay Angela. You?" Bella asks and looks one more time at her skirt.

"Oh, I am fine, but I just saw Mr Cullen and he looked like he is going to explode any minute." Oh god.

"What do you mean?" Bella wants to know and waits eagerly for a reply.

"His face was all red from anger I think, but maybe I talk too much into it."

"Okay," Bella says because she doesn´t know what else to say.

"Good luck," she hears Angela calling out to her before she tries to find her boss.

She finds him two minutes later in his office. She enters without permission as she is supposed to meet him now.

"Sir?" she asks in a low tone. He doesn´t react and she tries again.

"Mr Cullen? Sir, it´s Bella Swan."

"What are you doing Miss Swan?" Mr Cullen growls loudly and Bella takes a step back.

"Oh, I just saw that the door is open and I wanted you to know that I am here," she says in a sweet tone.

"Well, now I know. I will meet you outside," he answers calmly and stands up, waving his hands at the open.

"As you wish sir." Bella does as he says, but she isn´t quite sure why the hell he is in such a bad mood.

She meets him twenty minutes later outside and while they are waiting for the taxi Mr Cullen looks strangely at Bella.

"Mr Cullen, is something wrong?"

"No, everything is alright. I am just wondering something," he admits and looks directly into her brown eyes which all full of surprise now.

"Well, what is it sir?"

"I will tell you another time Miss Swan," he replies and she wants to say something, but the taxi already arrives.

"After you Miss Swan," Mr Cullen smiles politely. Holy cow, that smile again.

"Thank you sir," she says and hops into the taxi.

The whole drive to the airport they are quiet and nobody talks. Well, she doesn´t really know what to think of him.

"Miss Swan, we are at the airport now."

"Okay," she says and gets off the taxi.

Mr Cullen grabs his suitcase and Bella is about to get hers when she feels a warm hand on her own hand.

"I will take your bag," Mr Cullen says in a demanding voice.

"Thanks, that´s really nice of you," Bella smirks and turns to enter the airport without waiting for her boss. He, however, catches up with her and they board the plane together.

"Flights are always so boring, don´t you think Miss Swan?" Bella hears Mr Cullen asks as soon as they sit down.

"It deepens," she says playfully.

"On what?" he asks with a huge grin.

"The company," she laughs and turns her head into his direction.

"Oh... and are you bored Miss Swan?" he wants to know cockily.

"I don´t think so sir." Oh, she can play this game too and she loves to tease him just a little bit.

"Good," he says and grins at her. Bella wants to say something back, when suddenly a blonde stewardess appears and spills hot coffee on Mr Cullen´s dark pants.

"Shit," her boss hisses and Bella gasps at him. She has never thought she would hear him curse, but she doesn´t mind in the least now.

"I am sorry sir. Here let me just..."

"It´s fine, I will just go and clean myself up," he growls and the stewardess looks at him as if she fears for her job.

"I will go with you," Bella says and regrets her words at the same moment.

"You will?" he asks, clearly irritated.

"Yes," she says and stands up from her seat. Mr Cullen does the same and looks like he is about throw her back to her seat. What the ...

"Come on Miss Swan, we don´t have all day," he suddenly says and takes her hand in his.

"Mr Cullen wait!" she cries out when they reach the aircraft lavatory.

"What is it Miss Swan?" he asks and opens the door in hurry.

"Nothing," she whispers and goes inside the aircraft lavatory with her boss. She is alone in a small room, with her boss, who looks strangely at her. She knows it´s so wrong and when his eyes travel over her frozen body she is sure that she is in big trouble now. He begins to touch her cheek ever so softly and lets his hand wander to her arm. She can´t believe that he is actually touching her. Bella can feel that he tenses beside her and it seems that he is thinking really hard about something.

"You wanna leave?" he asks and turns her around. She is facing him now and seems so lost in his beautiful eyes. She doesn´t answer though, instead she just enjoys his soft fingers on here bare skin. She moans loudly when he touches her cheek with one Hand and holds her breath. She doesn´t know what he is planning to do, but she will eventually figure it out. It´s so forbidden. So exciting and yet so alluring. She takes a deep breath and tries to get out of his strong grip, but it seems useless. Oh my god.

"Mr Cullen? Sir? Please let me go!" she pleads in a serious voice. The hell. He is her boss and she is his assistant, she shouldn´t be stand in an almost dark room with him.

"Miss Swan?" he asks awhile later, still holding onto her arm.

"Please let me go, sir!" she repeats, looking at his tall figure and tries not to blush.

He doesn´t answer, he just let go of her heated body and stares at her in shock.

"I didn´t mean to ..." he begins to say, but is interrupted by a loud noise outside.

"Would you open the fucking door?" they hear a booming voice and she panics. They can´t open the fucking door now. What will they think of her?

"Just a minute,"Mr Cullen yells back and looks apologizing at her before he opens the door and leaves.

"Well, will you leave or do you want to stay?" the beefy man in front of the door asks and obviously waits for an answer.

"No, oh god no. I will leave sir," she answers and storms off as fast as she can. Now she will never be able to look into her boss eyes without remembering what he did. When gets back to her seat she sees her boss already sitting there, staring into nothing. Maybe they can just forget about it? She dares to take a better look at his face and notices that his jaw is clenched as well as his fist. Oh no, he can´t be mad at her, now can he? As the plane lands Bella isn´t so sure if she will survive this business trip without another incident or if she will get fired in the end.

It´s late in the evening when Bella and Mr Cullen arrive at the hotel and check in. It has been awful to sit next to him and now she doesn´t know how to behave. Should she just forget about it or should she talk to him about this incident?

"Miss Swan, wait a minute," he calls out to her and she turns her head and nearly trips over her feet again. So he is the one who makes the decisions? God, no.

"I will see you tomorrow Mr Cullen," is her only reply and then she runs as fast as she can to her room as soon as she gets her key. There will be no other incident, even if it´s the last thing she does.

The next morning she wakes up in an unknown bed and then she remembers that she is still in New York with Mr Cullen. She groans loudly and gets up from the king size bed and goes straight into the bathroom. She might as well look good, even if her boss is off limit now. At least that´s what she is trying to get into her mind when she walks down the stairs.

"Miss Swan?" She hears a voice behind her and she is startled a little bit, even if she knows who it is.

"You scared me sir," she holds her hand to her chest and breathes heavily.

"I am sorry Miss Swan, it wasn´t my intention to scare you," he says and looks at her.

"It´s okay now. So, what will I do today sir?" Bella asks out of breath.

"There is a meeting this evening."

"Okay," she says shyly.

"Come and have breakfast with me?" he asks in a demanding tone and she doesn´t like it in the least.

"Of course Mr Cullen," she answers, even though she wants to be somewhere else now. She notices that he wears a suit again. After breakfast together Bella has some free time and decides to stay in her room. She wants to look good in the evening since she is going to meet business partner of her boss. She gets ready early and waits in her room until the clock shows her that it´s time to leave.

"Good evening Miss Swan," he greets her politely and holds his hand out to her. She hesitates, but then she takes it as she won´t embarrass Mr Cullen in front of his company. Maybe it won´t be so bad after all?

"Good evening sir."

"Oh, by the way, you look beautiful tonight," he whispers into her ear and she begins to shiver. She isn´t even sure what to say and that´s really a bad thing. He is her boss after all.

"Shall we," Mr Cullen asks and points at the table at the other side of the room.

"Yes sir," she answers and he holds her arm. She looks around and notices that she doesn´t know anyone in that room. Oh, what if she does something wrong? Says something wrong?

"You know, don´t let them get under your skin Miss Swan. That was and still is my first rule to success, " he says and Bella wonders if he is always like this with people he just met.

"I will try to remember, thank you sir."

"No problem," he answers as they reach their table and sit down. The place is very comfortable and her boss seems to enjoy himself, as he is drinking wine and laughing all the time. She doesn´t remember a time when she had so much fun. They talk about work, new business partner and the most important, random things and family. She has already guessed that he has siblings. He tells her about his older brother, Emmett, who goes to college, his little sister Alice, who is still in high school and his younger brother Jasper. Bella doesn´t talk much about her family, only that her dad, works for the police station and that her mom, Renee, lives in Floride with her new husband Phil. All in all she learns enough about Edward Cullen. They leave the event two hours later and she is still confused about his sudden politeness. He suddenly stops walking and glances into her brown eyes.

They are standing before her room and she can´t believe it. He touches her hand ever so slightly and she is confused for a second. What the hell is he doing now? He is not allowed to touch her and yet he does it. He smiles so innocent at her, she absolutely loves it when he does smile. She opens the door and he closes it behind him. God! He steps in front of her heated body and begins to touch her softly on her cheek.

She knows that he has crossed a line. A line which is so fine and, the worst of it, her job depends on it. A job she really needs. He suddenly takes a step back and withdraws his Hand. He sure as hell does look like he regrets ever touching her in the first place.

"I shouldn´t have touched you. I am so sorry Miss Swan. I have nev..." Mr Cullen looks nervous and he doesn´t even finish his sentence because she holds her fingertips to his mouth and stops him.

"I liked it sir," she breathes against his hot skin and looks into his green eyes one more time. He lets go of her hand and glances at her in awe. Did she just say she liked it?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They stare at each other for a long time before she shakes her head and laughs.

"Mr Cullen? I didn´t mean to say that. Please forgive me," she says in a sweet tone and tries to hide her embarrassment. She feels like she is trapped in a dream. A real nightmare.

"There is nothing you should be sorry about. It was my mistake. I shouldn´t have done that. It was very unnescessary," he says, still confused about what just happened between them. Okay, Mr Cullen is sorry? For what?

"Oh," is her only reply and she can´t really understand what´s happening. She glances into his eyes. Obviously he doesn´t know what kind of effect he is having on her every second they are together, as his stare is cold and nothing like it used to look before.

"I think I should leave now sir," she whispers and makes her way towards the door. There is no need to stay any longer in his presence when he clearly is upset about their encounter.

"Yes, I really don´t want to make you uncomfortable anymore. Good night Miss Swan."

"Yeah, good night sir," she replies and opens the door to get the hell away from this man and it´s the next morning when she sees him again. He is sitting alone, eating breakfast. Bella takes two deep breathes and decides to join him. They are going to stuck together on this business trip for two more days and she really doesn´t want it to be awkward. Sure, they he makes her uncomfortable, but it´s not like he will marry her the next moment.

"Good morning, sir," she says politely and takes the empty seat beside him, but he doesn´t look up once from his paper. Okay, scratch her prior thoughts. This is totally awkward now.

"Miss Swan? You are here?" he ask in a wondering tone, which doesn´t go unnoticed by Bella.

"Of cours sir," she answers without hesitation and takes a blueberry muffin from the table. Hmmm... Her mouth is already watering, she likes muffins as much as she likes to see her boss smile.

"Well, I didn´t think you would be here," he admits slowly and takes a bite from his apple. He really wants to forget what happened the other day?

"Okay," she answers and gazes at her muffin.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" Bella hears a soft voice calling out and when she dares to take a look she nearly falls from her chair. In front of her stands a man who looks really dashing. Broad shoulder, long, brown hair and a face any other guy would kill for.

"No, no, this seat is not taken," she whispers and looks away quickly. It´s just her luck that every guy she meets is looking absolutely perfect.

"Thanks. Oh, I am Jacob by the way," the guy sits down and holds out his hand for her to shake. Bella´s mouth drops open. Before she can take his hand into hers, Mr Cullen growly loudly and both of them look at her boss oddly. What the hell is that?

"Miss Swan, I think we need to discuss some important things, now!" he yells and stands up. Bella gets red in the face from embarrassment. How dare he? Jacob seems to notice the tension between Bella and her boss and withdraws Hand quickly.

"I am Bella," she says, before she gets up from her seat looking really mad.

"Well Bella, maybe we can meet up later?"

"I would love that Jacob. See you lat...," she can´t even finish her sentence because Mr Cullen drags her out of the room by her arm.

"How dare you Mr Cullen. You embarrassed me in front of Jacob," she says as soon as they are alone.

"Just follow me," is his reply and she has no other choice but to follow him into his room?

"Sit down Miss Swan and calm down please," he pleads and makes a serious face.

"Calm down, calm down? I can´t sir," she answers while sitting down on his bed, shaking with anger. Mr Cullen steps towards her and knees in front of her body. Bella takes a double glance. He is kneeing in front of her?

"As I was saying before there are important things we need to talk about," he whispers against her ear and begins to nip her soft skin. What is he doing? She thought he doesn´t want to do this kind of things... She blushes deeply and looks away from his beautiful face as he eventually withdraws from her.

"I can´t do this Miss Swan. Not with you." She is about to ask him what he means, but he is already talking again.

"I am sorry. You should leave now," he says in a low tone and avoids to look into her face. Oh my god. He can´t be serious.

"Well, as you wish Mr Cullen," she answers slowly and leaves him on his own while she is fighting back hot tears. Of course he would say he can´t do that with her. Cold air hits Bella´s face as soon as she steps outside. She isn´t sure whether she should really leave Mr Cullen alone. Fortunately Jacob is there. She takes a deep breath and goes over to him. He smiles warmly at her as soon as he sees her and is slightly nervous, just like Bella. She grins back at him and he notices immediately that she is a bit shy around him, but he is going to make her feel welcome in every possible way.

"Hi Bella...," he says and turn his head into her direction. She nods once.

"Hey,"she says back and is now standing a few inches away from his muscular body.

"What´s up with you," he asks and looks at her sad face. She turns away from him, as she knows that she still has some tears on her cheeks.

"Oh, nothing. I just came outside and saw you. What are you doing here?" she explains quietly and glances at him again.

"Actually, I was hoping to see you again, Bella," he says and takes his hand into hers. She feels that his hand is strong and she already likes it more than she should. Jacob kisses her hand ever so softly and looks like he is proud about being with Bella. She looks oddly at his figure.

"Okay, but I need to go now," she says in a hurry, even though it´sa complete lie. She doesn´t want to stay with Jacob now, not after what happened between her and Mr Cullen.

"Yeah, I see. Maybe I will see you later?" Jacob asks hopefully and folds his hands.

"Sure, why not," Bella answers, though she isn´t sure if she should have said no.

"Well, good bye then," he smiles at her once more and is gone in the blink of an eye. When she goes inside she sees her boss rounding a corner. She hopes he isn´t looking for her, but then Mr Cullen catches her eye. It seems like he is never leaving her out of his sight and watches her every step. He is her boss, but Bella begins to feel comfortable as soon as she notices his burning eyes on her.

"Miss Swan, I just want you to know that I...," he begins to say but Bella holds her hand up to stop him.

"No, I understand. I am just your assistant," she points out and leaves him standing there. Oh my god... Maybe he wanted to say something else? She didn´t even give him the chance to answer and then it hits her. She glances back at her boss.

Bella doesn´t sleep well that night. She is still wondering what Mr Cullen wanted to say before she hasinteruppted him. It´s 4 am, when there is suddenly a loud knock at her door and she sighs.

"Yes, I am coming," she yells and gets up from her bed, wearing nothing but a top and a shorts.

"Hello, are you Bella?" The man asks curiously and looks her up and down, licking his lips.

"Why yes, I am Bella, what´s it to you?" she wants to know in a demanding tone. She doesn´t want to hide her discomfort.

"This is for you," he answers and hands her a huge bunch of red roses. Bella gasps and looks in amazement at the flowers.

"Sorry, but there must be some misunderstanding sir," she says in a serious voice and closes the door, ignoring the low voice from the man outside. About ten minutes later She gets up from her bed and leaves her room. She can´t be alone now. Jacob suddenly appears in front of her. It sure looks like he is a little drunk and he seems to be in a very good mood.

"Did you get the flowers?" Jacob asks and grins at her small figure.

"Oh, that was you?" she asks, still not looking at him.

"Why yes, who else?" he demands to know and she clearly hears some kind of jealously in his voice.

"There is nobody, really," she says and finally glances at his face.

"So, did you get the flowers?" Jacob looks her in the eye.

"No, I didn´t get flowers," she lies and feels bad for lying to Jacob. Sure, she doesn´t know him well yet, but she guesses he is a kind man.

"Oh," he says, clearly upset about that fact.

"So do you wanna have breakfast with me," she asks and feels better. She hopes she will get him in a better mood now.

"Of cours Bella. I would love to spend more time with you," he smiles at her before he grabs her hand.

"So, you are a personal assistant and on a business trip with your boss? Isn´t he the one who who sat with you the other day?" He laughs and Bella makes a face. They are sitting together at a large table and soon Bella finds herself to like Jacob even more. She doesn´t even know his last name and already likes him?

"Yes, I am here for another day with my boss and yes, he was sitting with us the other day," she answers and looks shyly away. She is about to asks for his last name when she sees a dark figure watching them intensively. Is that Mr Cullen? Hmmm... Maybe it´s not him? She excuses herself and finds herself taking a step into the man´s direction and gasps in surprise because it´s really Mr Cullen.

"Mr Cullen?" Bella asks a little irritated. Why is he standing in the dark? Holy shit? Is he waiting for her?

"Miss Swan? I just want you to know that we are leaving tomorrow at 7 am. Be ready by then," he almost Growls.

"Of course sir. I will see you then," she answers slowly and ignores the heated tension between them.

"Good," Mr Cullen says and leaves and slams a door shut with a loud bang.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Do you have everything," Mr Cullen asks Bella the next morning. They are ready to leave New York and she has never felt more relieved in her whole life. Well, it only can get better, right? She is about to answer when she suddenly hears a voice calling her name. It´s Jacob.

"Bella wait!" he almost screams at her.

"Miss Swan, we are leaving. Now!" Mr Cullen growls loudly and is getting more and more impatient. What the hell is his problem?

"Just a minute Mr Cullen," she says and goes over to where Jacob is standing, smiling at her.

"Jacob. What are you doing here?" she wants to know, even though she knows that her boss is still waiting for her.

"I just wanted to say good bye to you," he says grinning at her frozen figure. Way to go.

"Miss Swan!" Mr Cullen yells and points at the taxi. She however, takes her time with Jacob and decides it´s now or never.

"So, if I give you my phone number will you tell me your last name?" she asks not so shyly anymore and makes a cute face at him. He laughs, but of course he tells her.

"Okay, I will call you later Bella Swan," Jacob says and grins at her again.

"Yeah, I hope to hear from you Jacob Black," she answers and glances at his hot body before she lets go of his warm hands. Is that really happening? She just gave her phone number to a stranger. Well, he isn´t quite the stranger anymore, right?

"Yeah, bye," Jacob says and she really hopes he does mean it. She winks at him and goes over to Mr Cullen, who looks furiously at her.

"I won´t tolerate something like that again Miss Swan," Mr Cullen says as soon as they sit in the taxi. She makes a face at him, considering if she should say something back. She decides not to speak at all and just nods her head in understanding. Way to go Swan.

"Good," he says when he notices that she doesn´t want to answer him and then he turns away and looks out of the window.

It´s late afternoon when they land in Seattle. She hasn´t talked to her boss at all and is glad that everything will go back to normal now. Mr Cullen doesn´t even glance at her when she says bye to him. What is going to happen on Monday? She sighs when she arrives at home and prays that she will finally find some sleep as soon as her head hits her soft pillow.

She wakes up late on Monday morning and is stretching her arms while wondering about some things. What is going to happen with Mr Cullen? She nearly falls off her bed when she stands up, she is just too clumsy sometimes. She rolls her eyes and prepares herself for another dreadful day. She stands in front of her mirror before she skips down the stairs. She isn´t happy at all. Jacob hasn´t called yet and she is pretty upset about it. She makes a face. Okay, maybe she isn´t that upset about it. When she arrives at work, Angela is already waiting for her and even her other co-worker, Becky, is looking at her strangely as soon as she sees Bella entering the building.

"Bella? You are awfully late today. Mr Cullen already asked for you and he seemed really pissed that you weren´t there," Angela says in a serious tone and tries not to scare Bella. There is no way Bella wants see Mr Cullen now. Not when he is in a foul mood. No way.

"What did he want Angela?" she asks and looks at her friend.

"He didn´t say much. Just that he wants to see you. Then he left," Angela answers and looks at Bella with some pity in her facial expression. Does she really need to see him now? Well, the expression on Angela´s face clearly shows that she is in trouble.

"I better go now. Wish me luck," Bella suddenly shouts and runs down the hall. She ignores the crazy stares from Angela and Becky. She just wants to get over with the meeting and please Mr Cullen. When she arrives at her boss office she knocks once and waits for his reply, but there is none. Another try. No answer. Oh my! What now? She tries not to think about it and turns her body around to step aside, but bumps into something hard.

"What are you doing here?" Mr Cullen growls and lets his eyes wander down her body.

"You wanted to see me," she answers and glares at him. What now?

"Ah yes Miss Swan, please follow me," he seems to remember now and points at the door. Of course she follows him.

"You may take a seat Miss Swan," he says after he sits down in his seat and stretches his hand.

"So, I wanted to see you because there may be a misunderstanding between us," he first points at himself, then at her and looks at her with pure irritation.

"What do you mean sir? There is no problem," Bella answers with a confident voice.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, is that all you wanted sir?" she asks annoyed and gets up from her seat.

"No, actually I want to invite you for dinner. Tonight, Goules restaurant, 8 pm? What do you say?" he asks in a low voice and gets up from his seat too.

"I don´t think that´s a good idea sir," she answers and turns on her heel without glancing back. She doesn´t see the burning expression on his face. What has she done? She can´t believe she just said no to him. Bella sits down behind her desk, still thinking about Mr Cullen. Why, oh why, did she say no to him? It´s just too complicated and she just doesn´t want to make this situation more awkward. Oh, who is she kidding. It´s already fucked up and her, hell even Mr Cullen, knows that fact. She doesn´t know what to do anymore. She laughs nervously and gets her things together. It´s already 5 pm and she will leave now. Maybe it will all get better? She can only hope.

"Miss Swan are you listening," the voice of Mr Cullen startles her a bit and she looks shocked at him.

"Yes sir," she says in a shy voice and glances back at his green eyes.

"So, as I was saying you won´t work tomorrow," he explains slowly. What the hell? Bella stares at him as if he just asked her to marry him.

"Excuse me, what did you say sir?" she asks and looks away. There must be a misunderstanding.

"You won´t work tomorrow. I will attend some charity and you will be there, too," he growls and stares at her.

"Is that clear Miss Swan?" he asks and she nods.

"Well, you can leave now," he says and looks really mad.

"Of course sir," Bella dares to speak and glares at him in anger. Who does he think he is? It just doesn´t make any sense. He doesn´t make any sense at all and it´s freaking her out.

"Come on. I will see you later Miss Swan," he says and and leaves without looking back.

"Yes sir," Bella says automatically and gets up. She doesn´t know what is awaiting her. She can only guess.


End file.
